Railroad-tie.



' R. A. HOUDYSHELL.

RAILROAD TIE.

APPLICATION mu) MAY 26. i9l6.

1 1 98,920. Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

RJiHoudysizell,

llNiTE T @FTQ ROY ALVIN HOUDYSHELL, or TAMA, town, assrenon or ONE-HALF r0 JAMES ROSS BEAR, or TOLEDO, IOWA. x

RAILROAD-TIE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 26, 1916. Serial No. 100,083.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ROY ALVIN HoUDY- SHELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tama, in the county of Tania and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Ties; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The primary object of this invention is to improve the general construction of metallic ties by providing a tie of simple, durable and inexpensive construction, that *ill admit of the same cushioning effect for the rails being had as with the ordinary wooden tie.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a tie having 'a main body portion formed of metal, and of such construction that it will be held against horizontal movement, when in operative posi tion, and having wooden blocks associated therewith for providing seats for the rails, and novel means for holding the blocks in operative position .and preventing splitting of the blocks.

Other objects will appear and be better understood from that embodiment of my invention of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part thereof, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the tie, Fig. 2 is a side view of the tie, having one end in section, Fig. 3 is a transverse section, taken through one end of the tie, Fig. 1 is an end View of the tie, and Fig. o is a perspective view of one of the end plates of the tie, showing the same removed from operative position.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the tie body is formed of a pair of spaced side plates 1, each of which is L-shaped in cross section, and underlying the horizontally disposed flanges of the plates 1 is a pair of bottom plates 2, which have their outer ends lying flush with the ends of the plates 1, and have their side edges lying flush with the side edges of the horizontally extending flanges of the plates 1 and secured thereto by means of the fastening element End plates 4: are located at the opposite ends of the plates 1 and have depending extensions 5 formed thereon, which engage over the adjacent ends of the bottom plates 2, the said plates 4 being provided with, parallel flanges 6, which engage the outer surfaces of the plates 1, at the opposite ends of the plates, and are secured thereto by means of fastening elements 7. The inner opposed ends of the bottom plate 2 are arranged in spaced relation to provide an opening 8, for the reception of a portion of the road-bed so as to prevent horizontal shifting of the tie when in operative positlon.

Positioned within the tie body, at the opposite ends thereof, and arranged in spaced relation with the end plates at is a pair of wooden blocks 9. These blocks rest upon the bottom plates 2 and have their upper surfaces extended above the upper edges of the vertical flanges of the L-shaped plates 1, as shown in Fig. 2, and provide seats for the rails 10, so as to admit of the desired cushioning effect being had for the rails during the passage of rolling stock thereover.

Each of the blocks 9 has a pair of metallic straps 11 engaging over the upper surface thereof, the straps forming each pair being arranged in spaced relation and each having an offset portion 12 formed thereon which engages over the upper edges of the vertical flanges of the L-shaped plates 1, the ends of the straps 11 being bent downwardly along the outer surfaces of the vertical flanges of the plates 1, as shown at 13. The ends 13 of the straps 11 have openings therein, which aline with registering openings in the vertical flanges of the plates 1 and in the blocks 9, for the reception of bolts 14, which extend through the ends 13 of the straps 1'1 and through the vertical flanges of the plates 1 and through the blocks 9 for holding the parts in assembled relation, the bolts lt having nuts 15 turned thereon adjustable against certain of the ends of the straps 11 so as to prevent accidental withdrawal of the bolts 14. The straps 11 serve to prevent rattling of the blocks 9, and by virtue of the employment of these straps 11, should the blocks 9 become loose, as the result of wear, suitable wedges can be placed between the straps 11 and the upper surface of the blocks 9, so

as to tighten the latter.

In providing a tie, in the manner above described, it Will be seen that should any of the parts become unfit for use, the same may be removed and new parts conveniently substituted in place thereof.

Having thus described my invention What I claim as new, is:

1. A rail tie comprising a body portion having spaced side plates, end plates located at the opposite ends of the body, flanges formed on the end plates and engaging against the outer surfaces of the side plates, fastening elements extending through the flanges and the sides of the tie body, blocks interposed between the side plates and spaced from the end plates and having their upper surfaces disposed above the side plates, substantially inverted Ushaped straps engaging overthe upper surfaces of the blocks and having offset portions to provide shoulders for engaging the upper edges of the sides of the body, the said U-shaped straps having their sides engaging over the side plates, and fastening elements extend ing through the sides of the straps and through the side plates and the blocks for holding the parts'in assembled position.

2. A rail tie comprising a body formed of opposed side plates, bottom plates underlying the side plates, end plates located at the opposite ends of the side plates and having depending extensions thereon engaging over the outer ends of the bottom plates, flanges formed on the sides of the end plates and disposed above the extensions and engaging the outer surfaces of the side plates Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Gommissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

